These are weeks of big upheavals for the european basketball that could change its face forever. The Arab wind is blowing ever stronger over the EuroLega, both in terms of relocated Final Fours and a new team from the Emirates.
Another front is that of rapprochement between EuroLeague and FIBA, which seem ready to collaborate again. In reality, however, there are other implications, and peace may not be so close, as evidenced by the exclusion of EuroLeague referees from the Paris 2024 Olympics. In the background is the NBA seriously considering “colonizing” Europe., according to a scenario described by Sportrico and also taken up by Sporting.
A few weeks ago the NBA hired the company of. consulting financial Raine Group, asking it to study the scope for greater engagement in European basketball. At the moment, the American league has relocated some pre-season and regular season games to Europe, as well as investing on the marketing side with diversified strategies (social, store, youth initiatives). Now, however, Adam Silver is reportedly considering a more assertive entry.
There is speculation of a collaboration with FIBA to create a new league, along the lines of what happened in Africa. Or the emergence of a new tournament with teams from Europe and other regions of the World, similar to the current Intercontinental Cup, revived in recent years by the global Federbasket.
These are, of course, preliminary studies. The baseline, however, is that the European and Middle Eastern markets would be worth up to 3 billion dollars per season. And that according to initial survey results, there is a huge gap in Europe between interest in basketball and the current supply of competitions. The NBA, therefore, considers whether and how it can bridge this gap to generate profits.
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